Abortion facts

There are many facts (and fiction) about abortion which although are designed to be helpful, can also be misleading.

Here is a list of the latest abortion facts and statistics, which are taken from the Department of Health’s website (www.dh.gov.uk/Publications) 

These statistics are taken from 2009.

• Around 94% of abortions were paid for by the NHS
• Around 60% of these abortions were carried out in the private sector under an NHS contract.
• The total number of abortions performed in 2009 was 189,000. This shows a small drop from 195,000 in 2008.
• Around 91% of abortions were performed at less than 13 weeks pregnancy: around 75% were carried out less than 10 weeks pregnancy.
• Medical abortions accounted for 40% of the total number of abortions in 2009.
• Around 4% of abortions were performed on girls under 16 and 17% for girls under 18. These figures accounted for per 1,000 girls. This is a drop from 2008.

These figures show a drop in the number of abortions carried out in the UK.